Hyperloop, a new form of mass transit involving capsules traveling on magnetic fields through depressurized tubes, has achieved significant progress in the northern Netherlands, a company developing the technology announced Monday.
A test vehicle was levitated and moved through a tube at a testing facility for the high-speed transit system once promoted by Elon Musk.
“So today, with the first successful test, we were able to levitate the vehicle, also turn on the guidance system and the propulsion system,” Marinus van der Meijs, the technology and engineering director at hyperloop company Hardt, told The Associated Press late last week before Monday’s formal announcement.
The European Hyperloop Center’s 420-meter (460-yard) tube is composed of 34 separate sections mostly 2½ meters (more than eight feet) in diameter. A vacuum pump removes air to reduce internal pressure. This reduces drag and allows capsules to travel at high speeds.
Hyperloop developers aim to have capsules speeding through tubes at up to 700 kph (435 mph). Its proponents argue it is far more efficient than short-haul flights, high-speed rail, and freight trucks but acknowledge it will require significant investment in infrastructure.
So far, within the limited space offered by the test center, speeds have been modest.
Some analysts are skeptical. When the hyperloop test facility opened in March, Robert Noland, distinguished professor at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, told The Associated Press that building the necessary infrastructure is too costly, calling it “another example of policymakers chasing a shiny object.”
